His steadfast determination reminded Andrew of what a platoon sergeant had said to him when he was sent on his first deployment. “I know all about your rich family and your fancy upbringing. None of that matters here. Look at the man next to you. You’d better be ready to give your life for him. I don’t give a shit what you came from or who you were before. You’re a Marine now, boy. A fraud can’t hide in combat.” It meant that bullets didn’t play favorites and money couldn’t buy courage, and that had been a challenge Andrew had embraced. Needed. Loyalty and character mattered. Money made people weak, and Andrew had grown up around an abundance of it. He’d turned his back on that life, though, and enlisted in the Marines as soon as he was old enough then spent every day proving he belonged there. His greatest fear in the beginning had been turning out like his father.
Although Dale Barrington was generally liked by all, Andrew had lost respect for him early on. When trouble had come to the family, Dale had chosen to leave politics rather than fight for his career. His infidelity had shaken the family, and Andrew had never forgiven his father for it. His mother, sweet as she’d always been, was fragile and unstable. The Corps was the family Andrew had identified with. He normally kept his visits home to a bare minimum. The less involved he was with his family’s drama, the simpler his life remained.
I didn’t turn out like Dad; I became someone worse.
So why am I here?
Because there is nothing else on my calendar and . . . I did feel lost without a mission. This gives me something to do. After Andrew had surfaced from his “classified operations,” he’d told Lance he was heading to Aruba to get the answers his brothers were looking for. Although Andrew had lacked interest in his deceased aunt’s journal, he’d read it. He’d also read over the file Lance had sent him that included ramblings from a private investigator.
Yes, doctors and nurses who had worked at the clinic twenty-nine years ago were no longer there. Big deal. Wouldn’t the same be true of any clinic nearly thirty years later?
The glass door of the clinic opened and Andrew lowered his phone to indulge in a part of his day he’d started looking forward to. A petite brunette in a conservative blue skirt and blouse strolled to the same picnic table she ate her lunch at each day. She was pretty in a wholesome, someone’s little sister kind of way. Her hair always blew wildly in her face, but that never seemed to bother her. She turned her face upward and closed her eyes briefly as if receiving a kiss from the sun.
Her killer body was chastely concealed from his view, but that didn’t stop him from imagining his hands gripping that perfect little ass of hers as he thrust into her. She had naturally full lips that she chewed while she opened each container of her lunch. It was a move that never failed to bring him to an uncomfortable level of arousal as he pictured exactly how good those lips would feel on him: trailing kisses down his stomach, wrapped around his cock, or parted while she cried out his name in climax.
At any other time in his life he would have acted on his attraction to her, but he wasn’t himself yet. Yes, his body was back in shape. Yes, he’d replaced alcohol with a long run each day, but all it did was take the edge off. His head wasn’t in a better place than it had been a month earlier. If a woman came to him he didn’t turn her away, but he didn’t pretend to be anything he wasn’t. A good fuck could clear the mind temporarily, but he wasn’t looking for conversation before or afterward. Some women were okay with that. He had a feeling that little brunette would not be.
As she always did, she took out her phone and called someone who put a sweet smile on her face. If there’d been a way to sit closer and hear her voice he would have, but instead he read her lips and imagined.
Slowly, he was getting to know her. He would have bet his life the person on the other line wasn’t a man or, if it was, it wasn’t someone she was dating. Nothing about her body language or what he was able to catch of their conversations was flirtatious. She laughed and munched on her lunch, all the while telling the other person about her day. He didn’t understand why learning to use a computer system made her as happy as it seemed to, but he allowed himself this one distraction. He’d been watching the building for several days, and she was the most interesting person he’d seen go in or out of it—and not because she might have anything to do with his brother’s conspiracy theory. She was too young for that.
The door of the building opened again, this time for a tall thin man who scanned the area before spotting the brunette and heading toward her. Andrew’s eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. He didn’t like the predatory smile on the other man’s face.
The man walked up and said something that surprised the brunette. She jumped and dropped her phone during her scramble to stand. He steadied her by taking hold of one of her arms, and the brunette blushed. Andrew’s hand fisted beside him, and he reminded himself that she was nothing to him.
She asked the man to join her, and Andrew growled when the man did. Without knowing a thing about the tall man, Andrew didn’t like him. He didn’t like the way he leaned in and touched her as he spoke. He didn’t like the shy smile she beamed at him.
Fuck, she’s pretty when she smiles.
Like a shark circling its target, Andrew knew the man sensed her innocence and was moving in to relieve her of it. He was too smooth. Too cocky. That man would suck the life right out of her before moving on to his next conquest.
The tall man made a show of looking at his watch then leaned forward and said something to her that made her eyes widen with surprise before she nodded. She was still smiling after he left, then she looked down at her feet and saw her phone. Her laugh rang out across the distance. He watched her lips closely, willing her to keep facing him so he wouldn’t miss a word.
“Did you hear that? Dr. Gunder just asked me out. Yes, a doctor. I love working here. I’m meeting so many incredible people. We’re going out tonight. I will. I promise. I’m sure we won’t be out late.”
She rolled her eyes skyward before adding, “Don’t worry, Mom. This isn’t my first date.” She made a face. “Wendy’s cousin. I went on a date with him. And then there was—can we not get into this? Let me enjoy the fact that a doctor just asked me out.” He missed a few words when she turned her face away, but she turned back a moment later. “I know what condoms are. Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
Andrew sat forward in the bench, positive he must have lip read wrong. She sounded years younger than she looked. How innocent was she? No. She can’t be. She’s in her twenties. He shook his head.
“Now I’m sorry I told you, Mom. Don’t say anything to Dad. Of course I’m talking about the date. You didn’t tell him about the other thing, did you? Oh, God. Great. The two of you are giving me a complex. I know you just want me to be happy, but I am. Virginity is not a disease; I’m simply waiting for the right person.”
Andrew sat back on the bench and gave his b
ulging cock a firm lecture. This changes nothing.
It did, though. The recon part of the mission was done. It’d be a cold day in hell before Andrew sat and listened to his brunette describe doing anything with the lanky doctor. The thought made his stomach clench with possessive jealousy. He rose to his feet.
What’s wrong? I think he’s not good enough for her?
Do I think she’d be better with someone like me?
He strode toward the front of the building. She looked up, and her eyes followed him. He shook his head. Oh, honey, stick with your pasty doctor. He’s a much safer option.
With that, he walked into the clinic and asked if he could speak to someone in the records department. It was time to get some answers and move on.
Helene fanned her face with a hand after Mr. Muscles disappeared into the clinic entrance. He carried himself like an adult male animal who’d been born in the wild. To the novice eye, all lions in captivity looked the same, but there was a distinct difference between those who had been bottle-fed by humans and those who had taken down gazelles in the Serengeti. A wild lion not only had battle scars, there was also defiance in his gait. He could be caged or even shackled, but neither made him less dangerous. He’d fought and won against animals ten times his size. He feared nothing.
Mr. Muscles was definitely wild.
By comparison, Gil Gunder reminded her of a flamingo. The thought made Helene chuckle and chastise herself for thinking unkindly of a man she’d just agreed to go on a date with. What’s wrong with a brilliant, tall bird?
What would I have in common with Mr. Take My Breath Away?
At best, I’d be a speed bump on his way to another hunt.
Gil is a doctor, and I want to be a veterinarian. We’ll have a lot to talk about.
I wouldn’t even know what to say to Mr. Muscles.
Hi, you’re beautiful. Can I touch you?
That’s it.
That’s all I’d have.
Placing the uneaten portion of her lunch into her bag, Helene remembered her mother was still on the phone. “Sorry, Mom, I have to get back to work now.”
